Patience at its Finest

I stared at the remains of what no doubt was a tough fight for me. With how coordinated and skilled they were, consuming even the weakest one was out of the question. Luckily, with a little help, I had overcome them. Speaking of...

I turn towards the bat demon, who was smirking adamantly at our victory. Noticing my gaze, he turns to face me.

"Ah, yes. Since you helped me in my time of need, it's only fair that I repay you. I'm assuming that you want the remaining people on this planet, who are free for the taking." He mentioned this as he knew there weren't that many people left. There were roughly 100, not including the guardian, which obviously wasn't a good deal considering he wouldn't be alive if not for the help.

"No, I just want you to stand right there. With your eyes closed." I respond, not interested in his offer as after he dies, I could just wipe the rest of the planet anyway. 

"O...kay?" The demon says indecisively, but follows the instructions. As I watch him stand there, oblivious of his impending doom, I no longer am able to contain myself. I was almost starved prior to coming here, and the fight was no help. My tongue shoots out, wrapping itself around the one-winged demon, whose eyes snap open.

"Wait, what are you doing?" He begins to plead, but my ears, if I have them, are closed to it. There's only one thing that I want right now, and I waste no time in bringing him body up to my open mouth. His demise brings a wave of relief through my body, and I can feel his mana orb within the confines of my mouth. Just as I go to consume the mana orb as well, an idea strikes me. 

'What if I used his mana orb to attract other Archdemons to this as well.' 

Smiling at my own genius, I pop the orb out of my mouth and place it into the folds of my ghastly body much like if I had a pocket. After having the thought, I was just going to leave everyone who remained on the planet just as it was, but then thought that I might miss out on something unique or rare. Which is how I wiped this planet clean as well before stepping into my Kumon to go back to the demon world.

There's one thing that the last encounter taught me, and that's I could get unfortunate in the jumps and end up somewhere I don't want to be. Shame I had no control over that, so it was just the matter of dealing with wherever I ended up. 

As I step out of the void back into the recesses of the demon world, I look at my surroundings. Demons stare surprised at my sudden entrance, and begin clamping away, terrified at the prospect of facing me. I let them, as I have bigger plans to worry about. 

Archdemons were obsessed with the idea of gaining power, and to my knowledge, were drawn to things dealing with mana. Therefore, this demons mana orb would be perfect bait to attract Archdemons. It was the best option for me to successfully hunt Archdemons in this form until I evolved. 

My senses provide me with an understanding that I scared away all demons with mana in the area. If there were any, it was those that didn't have any, which left with me nothing to worry about. This next part required me to do a little labor.

Crouching on the ground, my massive hands begin to shovel out the surprisingly loose dirt to form a hole. It only takes me a couple of minutes to make a hole big enough to fit my massive frame inside, which I proceed to do. Keeping my arms and hands free, I shovel the dirt back in the hole to fill the spaces until it covers me. With my head positioned just below the surface of the dirt, but my arms still visible, the mana orb works its way up my ghastly body, dropping out of my "sleeve". 

Using one of my hands, I cover the other with dirt and use my tongue to assist covering the other. Finished laying my trap, I wait. Right now, I would sense if any Archdemons entered my field, so I would be prepared, and my arms weren't covered in case any manaless demons decided to take the orb if they were working for an Archdemon. In which case, I would crush them as they were of no use to me. 

While waiting for my prey, my mind wandered back to those days when I was working for the doctor. This reminded me of that as I would often have to sit for hours waiting for the person that matched his preference and even more time trying to find an opportunity to get that person without getting caught. Therefore, I lost track of time, but my senses remained up as I finally sensed a target. 

Judging from the outline that his mana surrounded its body, this Archdemon resembled a turtle. But contrary to popular belief, its speed wasn't hindered. It wasn't relatively quick, but it wasn't slow either. Nevertheless, I could feel him darting around, making sure that he was alone before heading towards his prize.

As he slowly got closer to my mouth, I didn't let my eagerness get the better of me like some amateur. I knew he was looking for any reason to not continue forward, for even the slightest inclination of a movement. I knew he wasn't stupid, that a mana orb would just be sitting there as there was little chance that demons got lucky here in this world. 

Seeing nothing, I can feel it, the moment that I've been waiting for. Where every creature decides to just go for it, to risk it all in an effort to claim a prize that will better them. That one second decision makes or breaks a person, as it decides their fate. I, too, fell for this impulse on many occasions. The difference for me, is that I realized it's dangerous potential, and know of its effects on others, allowing me to take advantage of it. So, unfortunately for this Archdemon, he was of no exception. 

I know his decision, as it is the only choice he can take, besides walking away, which is to grab it as quickly as he possible can and escape. His body spins rapidly as it twirls towards the mana orb. I notice the jagged edges on his shell, meaning that if I were to use my tongue as a means of trying to stop him, it would no doubt be cut off. But I still wasn't worried.

His body nears, and I begin my counter. Just as he comes close to the mana orb, my teeth snap shut, stopping his spin.

"Whaaa." He exclaims, but I ignore his surprise as my tongue wraps itself around his body, bringing him further into my mouth. Taking care to not consume his mana orb, he dissolves into my void, and I add his mana orb to the collection. Covering myself back into the dirt, I smile at how clever I can be sometimes.